"
Cheese-eating surrender monkeys," sometimes shortened to "
surrender monkeys," is a derogatory phrase referring to the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
that gained notoriety in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly in the run-up to the
Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United...
.
The phrase first appeared in an episode of
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
entitled "
'Round Springfield"Round Springfield" is the 22nd episode of the sixth season of The Simpsons, and the 125th episode overall. It originally aired on April 30, 1995. It was written by Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia based on a story idea by Al Jean and Mike Reiss and was the first episode directed by Steven...
" (first aired on April 30, 1995).
Groundskeeper WillieGroundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
, the school janitor, is teaching
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
due to budget cuts, dressed in a striped jumper and a beret.
"
Cheese-eating surrender monkeys," sometimes shortened to "
surrender monkeys," is a derogatory phrase referring to the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
that gained notoriety in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly in the run-up to the
Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United...
.
Origin
The phrase first appeared in an episode of
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
entitled "
'Round Springfield"Round Springfield" is the 22nd episode of the sixth season of The Simpsons, and the 125th episode overall. It originally aired on April 30, 1995. It was written by Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia based on a story idea by Al Jean and Mike Reiss and was the first episode directed by Steven...
" (first aired on April 30, 1995).
Groundskeeper WillieGroundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
, the school janitor, is teaching
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
due to budget cuts, dressed in a striped jumper and a beret. In a heavy Scottish accent, he greets the class with "Bonjourrrrrrrrr, yah cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys!" According to the DVD commentary for the episode, the line was "most likely" written by
Ken KeelerKenneth Keeler is an American comic writer and producer. He has written for numerous TV series, most notably The Simpsons and Futurama.- Biography :...
.
The "
surrenderSurrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
" element of the phrase refers to the stereotype that the French are quick to surrender in military confrontations, and is related to the situation of France during the Second World War. The implicit characterization of the French as
cowardCowardice, in general terms, is the perceived failure to demonstrate sufficient robustness in the face of a challenging situation. The term describes a personality trait which is typically viewed as a negative characteristic and has been generally frowned upon within most, if not all global...
s, and the description of the
Battle of FranceIn World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed from 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations...
as a surrender is—as promulgators of the phrase likely intend—regarded by many as highly offensive. This was again referenced in the episode "
The Blunder Years"The Blunder Years" is the fifth episode from The Simpsons thirteenth season.-Plot:While unpacking after her daily grocery shopping, Marge realizes that she has bought a different brand of paper towels called "Burly". However, she does not mind so much after seeing that the model pictured on the...
", when Lenny (while scared) said, "I'm shaking like a French soldier!" The "Cheese eating" element relates to the well known cheese production and eating in France.
In the European French-language version of that
Simpsons episode, Willie's line was dubbed as "
singes mangeurs de fromage" (cheese-eating monkeys) without any mention of "surrender". The line does not translate easily because "surrender" forms part of an English compound noun. The rules of French syntax do not allow such ready formation of nouns by noun stem compounding.
Iraq War
The line was first picked up and used predominantly by
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
American politicians and publications. They were led, according to the British national newspaper
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
, by
Jonah GoldbergJonah Jacob Goldberg is an American conservative syndicated columnist and author. Goldberg is known for his contributions on politics and culture to National Review Online, where he is the editor-at-large...
, a columnist for the U.S. bi-weekly
National ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine and web site, founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr. in 1955 and based in New York City...
and editor of their website National Review Online. Goldberg's online-only column, the G-File, is written in a more casual, personal manner and in the late 1990s often contained
Simpsons (and other pop-cultural) references. Goldberg's repeated aggressive use of the phrase "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" led to its more widespread use amongst his readers, although Goldberg had stopped using it by the time the phrase was gaining mainstream popularity post-
9/11The September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners...
.
France opposed many U.S. positions and actions, in particular, the
2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 20 to May 1...
. Some argue the phrase's success reflects aggression in the U.S. towards countries such as France who oppose the U.S. in international forums. The phrase, and similar opprobrious comparisons, have been used more frequently by some
U.S. mediaThe media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The U.S...
outlets, such as the
New York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
and commentator
John GibsonJohn David Gibson is an American radio talk show host. As of September 2008, he hosts the syndicated radio program The John Gibson Show on Fox News Radio. Gibson was formerly the co-host of the weekday edition of The Big Story on the Fox News television channel.-Early career:Gibson earned a BA...
of the
Fox News ChannelThe Fox News Channel , commonly referred to as Fox or Fox News, is a major American cable news and satellite channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation. As of April 2009, it is available to 102 million households in the U.S...
(both owned by
Rupert MurdochKeith Rupert Murdoch, AC , usually known as Rupert Murdoch, is an Australian-born American global media mogul. He owns media outlets and is a major shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation ....
's
News CorporationNews Corporation is the world's second largest media conglomerate as of 2008 and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009...
, parent company of the Fox Network, on which
The Simpsons appears.), and commentator Mark E. Hyman of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group.
The
New York Post resurrected the phrase "Surrender Monkeys" as the headline for its December 7, 2006, front page, referring to the
Iraq Study GroupThe Iraq Study group , was a ten-person bipartisan panel appointed on March 15, 2006, by the United States Congress, that was charged with assessing the situation in Iraq and the US-led Iraq War and making policy recommendations...
and its recommendation that U.S. combat brigades be withdrawn from Iraq by early 2008.
Correspondent
Ed HelmsEdward "Ed" Helms is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as Andrew "Andy" Bernard on the U.S...
from the Daily Show also used this expression when interviewing a US Congressman; when told this was not the most constructive way of critiquing the French, Helms offered the expression "truffle-shaving, fondue-dipping, bidet slurpers" as a possible substitute.
Use outside the United States
In December 2005, the phrase was used by British UKIP
MEPA Member of the European Parliament is the English name for a person who has been elected to the European Parliament, one of the European Union's two legislative bodies. MEPs are the European Union's equivalents of a country's national legislators in either the lower house or unicameral...
Nigel FarageNigel Paul Farage is a British politician, and leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party . He is also a member of the European Parliament for the South East. He co-chairs the European Parliament's Europe of Freedom and Democracy group...
who said the French President
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
was "...no cheese-eating surrender monkey...", in his unflattering comparison to
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
during a European Parliament session following Blair's brokering of the EU budget deal.
Edouard LapaglieEdouard Lapaglie is a UK radio personality most famous for his sidekick comedy input on programmes presented by Martin Kelner. Kelner often refers to him as "everyone's favourite bogus Frenchman"...
, faux-French comedy sidekick to broadcaster Martin Kelner on BBC Radio in Yorkshire on a Friday and Saturday night, is frequently referred to jocularly as a "soap-dodging cheese-eating surrender monkey".
In his
X-StatixX-Statix was a fictional team of mutant superheroes in Marvel Comics, specifically designed to be media superstars. The team, created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred, first appears in X-Force #116 and originally assumed the moniker X-Force, taking over for the more traditional superhero team...
book for
Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
,
Peter MilliganPeter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his comic book, film and television work.-Early career:Milligan started his comic career with short stories for 2000 AD in the early 1980s. By 1986, Milligan had his first ongoing strip in 2000AD called Bad Company, with artists Brett Ewins and...
introduced a supposedly French supervillain known as Surrender Monkey, a member of the mutant group Euro-Trash. His super power was the ability to "quit at just the right time". He is later revealed to be a rogue CIA agent agent posing as a French mutant. (
X-Statix #13-14, 24)
On the popular satirical British TV show
Have I Got News for YouHave I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been running since 1990...
, former
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
leader
William HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Richmond , Shadow Foreign Secretary and Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet...
has used the phrase when hosting the show on two different occasions. On the first of those, however, he said that he didn't agree with it, as they had left out "wine-guzzling".
On another popular British TV show,
QIQI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Until late 2008 it was first shown on BBC Two and repeated on BBC Four, with syndicated episodes of previous series shown on Dave...
,
Graeme GardenDavid Graeme Garden is a British author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
turned the phrase around, referring to Americans as "Burger-eating invasion monkeys". The phrase "haggis-eating suspender monkey" was also used by Garden, as his character, Dougal, on an episode of radio programme
You'll Have Had Your TeaHamish and Dougal are two characters from the long-running BBC Radio 4 "antidote to panel games", I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue . One of the rounds in this show is Sound Charades, where a title of a book or film has to be conveyed from one team to the other by means of a story...
to describe his friend Hamish, who is Scottish and was wearing ladies' clothing at the time. Also on QI Series F Episode 11
Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson is an Academy Award-winning British actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is also a patron of the Refugee Council.- Early life :...
called the French "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" when she found out that the French had called the British "lazy".
British TV show presenter
Jeremy ClarksonJeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster and journalist who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
described the
Renault ClioThe Renault Clio is a supermini car produced by the French automobile manufacturer Renault. Originally launched in 1990, it is currently in its third generation...
V6 as a "surrender monkey" in terms of handling at its limits on BBC 2's
Top GearTop Gear is a BBC television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style. The show is currently presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond...
, and the
Renault A610 TurboThe Renault Alpine GTA is a coupe automobile produced by the Renault-owned French manufacturer Alpine between 1986 and 1991.It was the first car launched by Alpine under Renault ownership...
as a "cheese-eating surrender monkey" on his DVD
Supercar Showdown. Again, in series 10 of Top Gear, he described a panel of judges including
Jay LenoJames Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host. From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During his tenure, the show held the top ratings position in its time slot on nearly every weekday...
,
Carroll ShelbyCarroll Hall Shelby, is an American racing and automotive designer and former racing driver.-Automotive Executive of the Year Award - 2008 Honoree:...
, and
Jean-Michel CousteauJean-Michel Cousteau is a French explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer, the first son of ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and is the father of Fabien Cousteau and Céline Cousteau.-Summary:...
by "imitating" Shelby telling Cousteau "shut up Frenchie you cheese-eating surrender monkey"
Irish comedian
Dylan MoranDylan Moran is a BAFTA and Perrier Award-winning Irish comedian, actor and writer. He is most famous for his observational comedy, the television sitcom Black Books which he co-wrote and starred in, and his work with Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead and Run Fatboy Run...
referenced the use of the phrase by Americans in his stand-up DVD
Monster, in which he comments on anti-Americanism in Europe in early 2003.
See also
- Francophobia
Francophobia, or Gallophobia, as well as Francophobe, are terms that refer to a dislike toward the government, culture, history, or people of France or the Francophonie. Its antonym is francophilia...
- Anti-French sentiment in the United States
Anti-French sentiment in the United States is the manifestation of Francophobia by Americans. It signifies a consistent hostility towards the government, culture, and people of France, that employs stereotypes.-Understanding anti-French sentiments:...
- Freedom fries
Freedom fries was a euphemism for French fries used by some conservatives in the United States as a result of anti-French sentiment in that country during the international debate over the decision to launch the 2003 invasion of Iraq. France had expressed strong opposition in the United Nations to...
- Axis of weasels
The phrase axis of weasels is a derogatory term for certain European states that did not support the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, specifically France, Germany, Russia, Canada and Belgium...